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Granada Travel Club – Malecon/Managua Trip

Thank all of you for a wonderful trip to Managua.

We all met up on a beautiful Tuesday morning in Parque Central.  The bus arrived and soon we were on our way.  It is a delight for someone else to do the driving to Managua.  It makes for a relaxing trip.  It also makes more time to observe ones surroundings. As the bus came toward the Malecon, it was a stunning view.  We were on a 4 lane, well paved, clean road with many impressive buildings (Ruben Dario Theater and government buildings) and many trees of lights surrounding us. The lake with its white caps ahead of us.  As the bus entered the gates a very clean and colorful Malecon greeted us.  The colorful flags were waving, the colorful benches along the Malecon  welcomed us, as well as picturesque buildings, thatched roofs and walkways.

The write ups on the Malecon in guide books and web sites do not do it justice.  Garnish and Gai had been there and said that it was one of the nicest Malecons they had been to.  We had also heard that it was very crowded on the weekends.  The decision was made to avoid crowds and go on a Tuesday.  Guide books and web sites ensured us that it would be open and boats available.  It was opened and empty of crowds.   The boats sat at the docks.  They were the best looking public boats that most of us had ever seen in Nicaragua.  They were brightly painted, clean and sturdy.  Dora Elena of the transport company had given us a heads up that the boat information on web sites and guide books was inaccurate.  The boats now only ran on the weekends.  Dora Elena had been told we would be able to charter a boat for a group of our size .  We got our hopes up when the sign on the ticket window indicated boats ran Tues – Sunday.  Bottom line, no boats were running.  But thanks to Amy and Martin with help from Cece and JoAnne, a boat was procured.  Amy said in the end it was Martin, our driver, that made it happen.   In no time, we were walking over the gangplank boarding the boat, being handed life vests and finding a seat.

Dumping in the lake stopped 10 years  ago and the lake is coming back.  There are fish in the lake and birds have returned.  The lake is recovering and Nicaragua is starting to show it off again.  The boat ride was windy and an adventure in itself.  We loved the views.  Lots of volcanoes to see and beautiful surroundings.  After descending the boat, we checked out restaurants and made choices.  By all reports all enjoyed their food.  Several of us followed Garnish and Gai’s recommendation of the Cuban restaurant.  Food and service were excellent.

The Malecon is continuing to evolve.  Expansion continues.  We were told that a water park will be added, a large hotel and a convention center.

After the lunch, we were off to the Galeria and the movie theaters.  The timing was perfect.  We got there just in time for the afternoon movies.  A nice surprise, special prices on Tuesday.  Several of us decided to go to Kingsman and were thrilled that it was in the VIP theater.  We were treated to the most comfortable chairs in the country.  A server provided a menu and took our food orders.  What a wonderful way to see a movie.  It appeared all were happy with their movie choices.  There were a few that choose to use the movie time to shop/look at a real mall.  It was fun.

On our way back to Granada, we stopped at the Stop and Go.  As many know, the Stop and Go has many food items not available elsewhere.  AW Root beer, horseradish, a wide assortment of chocolate, wasabi come to mind.  We had fun exploring the options and making purchases.

JoAnne, Garnish,  Bob and Paul and Edin all shared photos.  We will soon have a format that will make communication and sharing of photos more convenient.

Thank you all for making it a fun, exciting adventuresome trip with good people and lots of laughs. A special thanks to Amy.  She was not only instrumental in the planning of this trip but she handled the money.  As you know, this is a volunteer effort by all of us to be more affordably take fun trips.  In order to get firm prices we must have firm numbers and firm information.  That does not always happen and Amy not only provided the time and place to pay but kept track and acted as the negotiator for the boat.  The unknown costs became known – entrance fees, and a couple of other things.  It was close and she made it work and kept her humor intact.   Thank you Amy for everything you did to make this trip work for us.

In appreciation to all,

Jeannie Koons       [email protected]